An organization's culture is the aggregate of each individual'sthinking. It includes individual attitudes, beliefs,values and feelings. Cultural components can be positiveor negative. For example, many organizationsdon't really understand and value business development and, assuch, they've taken it for granted.

It's assumed thatbecause products, servicesand markets areavailable, business existsand revenue will be generated.Little thought isgiven to the businessdevelopment process andwhat's required to ensure that it does happenon a consistent basis. As long as revenue isflowing and projects are abundant, no onelooks below the surface. But when revenuefalls, the spotlight is immediately fixed onbusiness development.

Fostering a business-thinking, intrapreneurialculture within a firm is critical tosuccessful business development and mustbe embraced and modeled in the leadership.A business development culture is not astand-alone entity. It is reflected in the principles,values and ethics of corporate leadersand the business development leadershipand staff members.

A principle-driven business developmentculture is focused on helping prospectiveclients understand their challenges and findsolutions to those challenges, whether or notthe solutions are purchased from yourorganization. This cultivates an ethicalapproach to business development and promotesa culture that is a balance between thepurpose of the business and the goals of thebusiness, a critical component to long-termsustainability.

People don't relinquish their beliefs, attitudesor perceptions of reality easily.Consequently, a culture that doesn't foster anunderstanding or appreciation of businessdevelopment is a culture that is particularlydifficult to change. This is a common scenarioin organizations in which the executiveleadership does not understand, appreciateor value the business development function.If business development is acknowledged andrewarded for the resulting revenue growth inan organization, it sends a message that thisbehavior and thinking are valued.

The business development process that isused in an organization is a direct reflectionof the culture within that organization. Aprocess that is structured, disciplined,focused, accountable and documented communicatesto staff members that the businessdevelopment culture is important and valued.

In a business development culture, thereare two subcultures that are distinctly differentand mutually exclusive. The strategichunter culture proactively seeks and developsnew opportunities. The organic farmingculture is more passive or reactive, respondingto opportunities that already exist orappear in the market.

A major challenge results when an organizationwith a tradition of farming attemptsto add a hunting culture to the mix.

Although both subcultures can coexist andwill produce revenue growth, they eachrequire different thinking, behaviors,processes and employees.

Attempting to develop and merge a huntingculture with an existing farming cultureresults in a confusing combination. It's betterto start from the bottom up by building ahunting team with its own culture.

Corporate culture affects a company'sbehavior and success. A strong culture typicallysignifies a cohesive team with motivationto pursue a collective set of accomplishments,while weaker culturesoften splinter intosmaller factions pursuingtheir own agendas.

A healthy business developmentculture is theresponsibility of the entireorganization, because everyemployee who might comeinto contact with clientsfunctions in a businessdevelopment role, whetheror not they recognize it.

A robust, shared culture is the commonblood that courses throughout an organization.A diluted culture results in a fragile,dysfunctional and weaker company.

Bill Scheessele is the CEO of MBDi, a global business development services firm providing expertise in business development best practices in the national security, defense, scientific, energy and engineering industries. The firm offers BD consulting, strategy, planning and personnel services in addition to education workshops to help BD professionals identify hidden strengths, barriers to progress and opportunities for improvement. Learn more about MBDi, their revenue growth resources and their workshops at http://www.mbdi.com.

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